Minutes later, Desmond walked along the evergreen field in the direction of the huge tree with large branches that provided shade.
The more he got closer, the more the frown on his face deepened and it caused him to run up to the tree.
"Angelina."
He called her name as he came to kneel beside her body which was lying on the grass without moving.
"Angelina!" This time around, there was urgency in his voice and he shook her but she didn't move a limb.
He looked around as he searched for any threat before bringing his attention back to her.
He decided to search her body just to be sure she wasn't injured. It really surprised him to see her in such a state.
While searching her body, he spotted blood on her hand.
Frowning, he looked at her face and that was when his eyes landed on a mark at the right side of her neck.
"That wasn't there before." He muttered to himself in confusion and turned her head so he could have a full view of it.
It was a mark in the form of a sword.
"A sword? Why does she have a tattoo of a sword on her neck?"
Brushing the idea off for a while, he lifted her up in his arms and went back to the mansion.
Unknown to him, a crow had hidden itself amongst the leaves as it watched what happened.
.
On a lone and quiet hallway, Everand followed Valeria's scent. He wanted to be around her no matter what, every minute counted and he didn't want to waste it.
And on his way, he sighted Desmond walking in the opposite direction with a lady in his arms.
Curious, Everand squinted his eyes and that was when he saw who the lady was. It was Angelina.
But why was he carrying her that way? Did something happen to her?
"Desmond."
Hearing his name, Desmond turned slightly and found Everand staring at him but at a distance.
"I need to figure out what happened to her Everand, I found her in the field looking this way."
Everand's brows drew closer and he covered the distance and came to stand before Desmond with a look of worry when he noticed the blood on her hand.
He was a pureblood vampire, but since he was bound to his soulmate Valeria, he didn't feel the urge to take a sip from her.
"There's no spot of injury on her but how come she has blood on her hand? Do you sense something strange within her?" Everand asked that question because Desmond was a demon warlock so he would know what was wrong with her.
"Let me put her down first Everand."
He resumed walking and Everand tagged along because of how curious he was to know what really happened.
They entered the nearest guest room and Desmond carefully laid her on a wide sofa and that was when Everand saw the tattoo on her neck.
"I didn't see that on her neck when we got here…why is it there? Did someone mark her?"
Sighing, Desmond sat on his heels as he stared at Angelina's serene face.
"You and your never ending questions."
"I'm only curious, Desmond." Everand defended himself as he watched Angelina.
After giving the mark a long stare, Desmond straightened and faced Everand.
"Yes, it's a mark. Not just any mark but a grave one." He paused briefly as he glanced at Angelina before facing Everand again.
"I'm not sure who exactly gave her that mark but that mark explains who the person is."
"And who do you think it is?" Everand probed with a serious look.
"My instinct tells me it's someone who kills people without remorse…a sword is known for one purpose and that is to kill…"
"So are you saying the person's a warrior?"
Desmond gave him a dull look as if he said something very unreasonable.
"Do you think only warriors carry swords?"
At his question, Everand silently stared at him with narrowed eyes.
While they stared at each other, Angelina moved slightly before her eyes came open and she stared up at the ceiling for some seconds, wondering how she got inside when she recalled being outside.
Sighing, she slowly sat upright and that was when she saw Everand and Desmond.
They shifted their gaze from each other to her when they sensed she was awake.
"It's a good thing you're awake now Angelina, what happened?" It was Desmond who first questioned her.
Without giving him an immediate answer, she adjusted herself on the sofa before lowering her feet to the ground with a distant look.
"For a moment I thought I had a familiar but this is different," she sighed after that and shifted her attention onto Everand before looking at Desmond who had a baffled look.
"White witches can't have familiars and you know that Angelina…"
"I do Desmond, but there was something strange about the bird…there was this magnetic pull to bond with it and it was similar to the familiar bond."
"What kind of bird was it?" This time around it was Everand who inquired about it.
She gave him a look as she recalled the bird and a frown settled on her forehead.
"A crow."
"That's not good Angelina…hope you didn't touch it?"
Desmond became extremely concerned as he approached her with a look of dread in his eyes.
"It came to me willingly…" she said instead and stood up.
"Don't tell me it was the crow that marked you." Everand had a stunned look as he watched her keenly.
"It was," came her short and dismissive response and she was about to leave the room when Desmond stopped her.
"It left a mark on you Angelina. A strange one."
She suddenly twirled around in shock as she faced Desmond.
"What mark?"
"A sword." Everand answered and she touched her neck where the crow had bitten her. The blood on her hand had already dried up.
"I don't think that crow was an ordinary bird Angelina. My instincts are telling me it was something more…and deadly," he added.
Angelina froze in place when everything dawned on her. Her eyes were wide and she couldn't seem to get over the shock.
"That wasn't a familiar as you thought Angelina, it was something else…something sinister," Desmond continued.
Gradually, the memories of what happened while she was unconscious came back to her.
'You're bound to the dark side'...
That strong line was more prominent in her mind and she gasped.
"Are you alright Angelina?...do you feel strange?"
There was concern in Desmond's eyes as he tried to approach her but she stopped him with a raise of her hand.
When he stopped, she shifted her gaze to Everand and said;
"Don't tell anyone about this…not even Valeria."
He didn't give her an answer but when her gaze hardened, he spoke.
"Even if I don't tell Valeria, it will still be revealed to her."
What he said was very true but Angelina didn't mind.
Huffing heavily, she turned and left the room to them.
"She couldn't even say thank you." Desmond complained but Everand simply gave him a look before heading out of the room.
As soon as Everand stepped out of the room, he came face to face with Reginald who watched as Angelina hurried away.
With a suspicious look, Reginald brought his gaze to Everand.
They narrowed their eyes at each other as if daring the other.
"What is wrong with her?" Came Reginald's expected question.
"Why didn't you ask her?" Everand asked back and it irked Reginald.
At that moment, Desmond stepped out of the room and felt the growing tension in the air.
"Why do you think I'm asking you?" Reginald's intimidation kicked in and Desmond jumped in to settle the rising dispute.
"It's nothing Reginald, Angelina just fell unconscious but she's fine now."
Instead of looking at Desmond, Reginald's focus was on his stepfather who he disliked since childhood.
Without saying a word to either of them, Everand turned and followed the other direction with an exhausted look.
Coming back to the pack was something he didn't want but because of Valeria, he had tagged along.
Reginald was a huge problem and Everand didn't want to start a fight with him because he knew it would be futile.
After all, he was way stronger than him in every aspect.